⚡ Bottom Line Up Front
Winner: HubSpot CRM — Best free-to-paid growth path
For small businesses under 20 employees, HubSpot CRM is the best starting point — genuinely free tier, excellent UX, and seamless upgrade path. Pipedrive wins for pure sales teams. Zoho CRM is best for budget-conscious teams who need everything in one suite.

Quick Comparison

CRMRatingFree TierPaid FromBest For
HubSpot ★★★★★ 9.2 ✅ Unlimited users $20/mo Growth-stage startups
Pipedrive ★★★★☆ 8.7 ❌ 14-day trial $14.90/mo Sales-driven teams
Zoho CRM ★★★★☆ 8.4 ✅ 3 users $14/mo Budget all-in-one
Freshsales ★★★★☆ 8.1 ✅ 3 users $9/mo AI-powered scoring
monday CRM ★★★☆☆ 7.6 ❌ Trial only $12/mo Visual workflows

#1 HubSpot CRM

✅ Pros

  • Genuinely free CRM with unlimited users
  • Best-in-class UX — minimal training needed
  • Marketing, sales, and service all integrated
  • 1,000+ integrations in marketplace
  • GDPR-compliant with EU data hosting option

❌ Cons

  • Paid tiers escalate quickly ($800+/mo for Pro)
  • Reporting limited on free tier
  • Can feel overwhelming with all hubs enabled

HubSpot's genius is the free tier. You start with contact management, deal pipelines, email tracking, and meeting scheduling — all free, forever, unlimited users. By the time you need paid features (marketing automation, custom reporting), you're already deeply integrated.

European angle: HubSpot offers EU data residency (Frankfurt), making it GDPR-friendly. Their cookie consent tools are built-in, unlike most US competitors that require third-party add-ons.

Try HubSpot Free → Free forever plan · No credit card required · Affiliate link

#2 Pipedrive — Best for Sales Teams

Pipedrive is exactly what it sounds like: a pipeline-focused CRM built by salespeople, for salespeople. No marketing fluff, no service tickets — just deals moving through stages. This laser focus makes it the most intuitive CRM for pure sales workflows.

Try Pipedrive — 14 Days Free → Affiliate link

#3 Zoho CRM — Best Budget All-in-One

If you need CRM + email + invoicing + project management and your budget is tight, Zoho's ecosystem is unbeatable. The CRM integrates with 40+ Zoho apps. The downside? The UX feels dated compared to HubSpot, and setup requires more time.

European Small Business Considerations

  • GDPR Compliance: All five CRMs listed are GDPR-compliant, but HubSpot and Zoho offer EU data center options
  • Pricing in EUR: HubSpot and Zoho price in EUR for EU accounts. Pipedrive is USD-only.
  • Language support: HubSpot supports 11 languages. Zoho supports 28. Pipedrive supports 22.
  • VAT handling: All handle EU VAT reverse-charge correctly for B2B purchases